I Am Far From the Idea That What Is Bad for Azerbaijan Is Good for Armenia and Artsakh: Nikol Pashinyan

During a joint meeting of the Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the President of Azerbaijan does not accept any possibility of compromise.

“It is obvious that we cannot expect real progress in the negotiation process with such approaches, especially when they are accompanied by threats of war or territorial or historical claims against the Armenian people, either directly or indirectly,” he noted.

Pashinyan emphasized, “Attempts to turn the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict into an indefinite large-scale hostility between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, where our peoples would dispute everything from the past to the present, and the future as well as the entire region, I am convinced does not serve the interests of either the Armenian or Azerbaijani people. The European Court of Human Rights’ ruling on the case of Ramil Safarov clearly recorded and condemned the encouragement of crimes motivated by hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijan. This ruling should set clear red lines for Azerbaijan, showing that beyond these red lines stands not only Armenia and the Armenian people, but also the international community,” he stated.

Highlighting the recent historical perspectives, Pashinyan expressed a desire to articulate his thoughts reflecting certain historical inevitabilities as the President of Azerbaijan has taken to addressing history recently.

“Throughout its history, in the last 100 years, Azerbaijan has endured two major trials—April 1920, when Azerbaijan lost its statehood, gained just 2 years prior, and June 1993, when Azerbaijan was once again on the brink of losing its statehood, a fact commemorated by the recent anniversary of the Azerbaijani National Salvation Day. These two trials of statehood for Azerbaijan were caused by the wars unleashed against Artsakh in 1920 and 1991,” he articulated. “It is clear that in both 1920 and the early 1990s, Azerbaijan overestimated its capabilities and underestimated the destructive consequences of war. I am far from the idea that what is bad for Azerbaijan is good for Armenia and Artsakh. The loss of Azerbaijan's statehood in 1920 brought us, Armenians, nothing. More importantly, in 1994, we—Armenia and Artsakh—managed to establish a ceasefire with Azerbaijan, ending the war and stabilizing the situation in the region,” Pashinyan added.

The Prime Minister assured that the unified security system of Armenia and Artsakh is more than prepared to defend the security of the Armenian people in every part of our homeland. “The use of force will not go unanswered and will always be met with a proportionate response in both military and political spheres. This is also understood by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, who has effectively put himself in a deadlock. For more than 15 years, he has promised his own people to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue by military means, under which billions of dollars have been spent, often giving the impression of straightforward money laundering, ultimately landing in offshore accounts owned by well-known individuals. Now he struggles to explain to his own people why reality is what it is. He realizes that his possible adventurism could bring irreversible devastation not only to Azerbaijan but could also dismantle his anti-democratic regime,” he cautioned. “To divert attention from this impasse, he raises the temperature and rhetoric of his statements, attempting to compensate for past failures with new and more absurd promises about the future.”

Recently, with guidance from Azerbaijan's special services, a so-called “Western Azerbaijan” initiative has been created with respect to the Republic of Armenia. This makes Azerbaijan’s regional policy more comprehensive, and the absurd initiative of “Western Azerbaijan” has replaced the so-called comical series of “Southern, Northern, Northwestern Azerbaijan,” underlining Azerbaijan's destabilizing ambitions in the context of the whole region,” Pashinyan commented.

The Prime Minister noted that speaking about the stability and security of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone really means addressing the security and stability of our entire region.

“In this regard, Armenia becomes not only a guarantor of the stability in the conflict zone but also of the security of our entire region. Therefore, I believe we must treat our regional role with special responsibility and remain strong and firm without succumbing to meaningless provocations and absurd stunts. This is particularly relevant now as our societies are battling the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic; we must call for a cessation of hostile actions. Whether we like it or not, history and geography have made us neighbors, and we must accept the simple truth that our peoples are equal and cannot be subjected to each other's dominion and must govern their destiny according to their will and right to self-determination. Accepting this equality would greatly contribute to preparing our peoples for peace and lay a reliable foundation for the long-term and sustainable development of our region,” Pashinyan concluded.